Souls on Fire
by Blaire Nightshade
Summary: Mako is less than thrilled when Lin Beifong assigns him a partner to work with in the Police Force. Rika is a hot-headed, ex-military firebender who will more than likely be the death of him...but it just may very well be worth it!
1. Spark

**Hello everyone. I'm just gonna throw this out there...I am a Makorra fan. I have been ever since I saw the previews for Book 1. I think part of it stems back to my favorite fire and water couple not getting together in The Last Airbender (I'm talking about Zutara obviously). Anyways, I actually thought the ending was really good. I am able to wrap my head around Korra and Asami and have no bad feelings. **

**That being said, I was left wondering about the happy ending Mako would eventually get...and this story kind of spiraled from that. Mako's happy ending will eventually come in the form of 'Rika' a firebender who was raised in the Northern Water Tribe, and who served in the military for 5 years before joining the police while Mako was playing bodyguard for Wu. She is 21.**

**Anyways, enough of my rambling...read on!**

* * *

><p><strong><span>Souls on Fire<span>**

Mako subconsciously flexed his arm as he walked back into Republic City Police Department Headquarters. He was on administrative leave ever since the final battle with Kuvira, that was six months ago and his arm was finally healed enough to return to work. It still hurt like an angry spirit, but at least he could move it around. After Bolin had rescued him and he had gone to a healer, he learned that the nerves in his arm were completely fried. It took several physical therapy sessions to reconnect the nerves. They told him it would be like flipping on a switch…they clearly had never gone through the ordeal themselves.

Looking back on his situation, it was a miracle he didn't lose his arm…he didn't know how he would get over that hurdle if fate had took him in that direction.

After successfully defending Republic City, Mako was thrilled to learn that Prince Wu was abolishing the monarchy and installing a democratic system into the Earth Kingdom. While the young prince might not have been cut out to be a great leader…the kid had spirit. And Mako respected that.

Since Wu no longer needed an official bodyguard, Chief Beifong personally told Mako that he was able to return to work at HQ as soon as he was properly healed up.

Although Mako had grown fond of Wu as he would a little brother, Mako could not have been more thrilled at the prospect of returning to police work. No more dress codes; No stupid button up jackets with the matching pants, no grooming guidelines that required hair to be combed and kempt, back to what he was good at.

Mako immediately let his hair grow back out and pulled out his favorite grey jacket from the back of his closet. Pulling on his fingerless gloves, and stringing up his boots…he was ready to face the world.

oOoOo

"Welcome back, kid." Lin smiled and gripped Mako's good shoulder affectionately when he entered her office.

"It's good to be back, Chief." Mako nodded and took a seat as Lin motioned for him to do so.

"Seeing as your still on limited duty, I can't give you any assignments that are too strenuous." Lin said as she studied his file, when Mako groaned she shot him an annoyed look, "Healer's orders, Kid."

"The healer told me just last week that I was already back to 75% normality." Mako tried to explain.

"That's 25% less than where I want you to be kid," Lin didn't budge, "So for now…you're gonna be patrolling Central. Just keep your eyes on the streets…you see anything suspicious do not engage unless it is absolutely necessary, Got it?"

"Yes Ma'am." Mako sighed in defeat as he stood up from his chair and got ready to head for his motorcycle.

"Oh before you go, how's Korra doing?" Lin asked, "I haven't seen her in a couple of weeks."

"She's doing well, she and Asami actually just left for the Southern Water Tribe to visit Korra's parents."

Lin nodded, "I always had a good feeling about those two."

Mako bit his lip and nodded. While he was extremely grateful to have Korra back in his life…he couldn't help but be a little bitter at the fact that his two ex-girlfriends were happier with each other than with him.

After all each of them had a special place in his heart. Asami being his first girlfriend, and Korra being the first girl he truly loved. In the end it just came down to the fact that they had different life goals, and fate was leading them down separate paths.

But as long as they were happy, he was happy. He wanted nothing but the best for the both of them, and all he wanted was to be there for the two of them as a friend.

oOoOo

Mako sat on a bench, with his arms crossed and sulked. He had been out here for over two hours…and there had been absolutely NOTHING! Not a single pickpocket, not a verbal altercation, not even a single piece of litter had been thrown as far as he knew.

He was stuck here, in the high class section of town, watching the rich families walk their dogs and go to dinner at the fancy restaurants.

He sighed as he leaned back and stretched out his limbs. He flexed his arm which was beginning to get stiff, his shift ended in a couple hours and he could go to a pharmacy and pick up some painkillers.

Mako shifted his gaze to the ground and absentmindedly kicked a small pebble with his boot, watching it skid along the ground. He was going to die of boredom if nothing exciting happened.

As if the spirits heard his prayer an elderly voice called out, "Someone help me, somebody please help me!"

Mako rose from the bench so quickly that it shook. He sprinted to the location of the voice he heard and saw a 60 year old man on the side of the street. A small crowd was gathered around him, and Mako had to push a few people out of the way to get to him.

"I'm a police officer, what happened here?" Mako demanded as he kneeled down and helped prop the man up against a telephone pole.

The man was bleeding slightly from his head, so Mako took a cloth out from his pocket and applied pressure to the man's forehead as the elder explained what happened.

"Four of them came," He cried, "demanded that I pay them 5000 yuons as protection money. When I refused, they threw me to the ground and destroyed my cabbage stall!"

Mako looked over and saw that there was a pile of broken and splintered wood on the ground, green vegetables had rolled every which way. In the midst of the rubble were several ice shards that were now starting to melt.

'Red Monsoon Triad' Mako thought as he surveyed the damage. "Do you have any idea where they went sir?"

"Something about an old warehouse in the slums," he whimpered as he applied pressure to his head.

"Okay," Mako nodded as he headed for his motorcycle, "A healer will be on their way shortly…just hang tight."

"Red Monsoon Triad…got it!" Mako thought excitedly as he revved up his bike and began the trek to Slumtown, completely forgetting Lin's warning from earlier.

oOoOo

A matter of minutes later, Mako stood outside the abandoned factory and began scoping it out. He peered through a broken glass window and saw a group of Triad members all clad in blue…definitely the Red Monsoon Triad, the waterbending gang of Republic City.

He counted five Triad members, and without stopping to properly think out a plan of attack he found himself running into the building to take down these scumbags.

"Freeze!" Mako ordered as he tumbled into the warehouse and immediately took up an offense attack pose, ready to start throwing fire balls around if any of these thugs provoked him.

There were five of them, four men and one girl. There ages ranged from 40 to 20…no matter, he liked a good challenge. "RCPD…you are all under arrest."

The four men all turned to look at each other before they all burst out laughing, all holding their stomachs or keeling over. The girl on the other hand…she simply rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, as if she was annoyed or bothered.

"Kid, I don't know who you think you are…" The Leader drawled as he stepped forward, cracking his knuckles, "But you clearly just stepped into something a little too big for you. And you see, we all hate dirty, stinking, rotten, COPS!"

Mako braced for it, but he still was put on the defensive as the Red Monsoon leader began assaulting him with chunks of ice.

Mako jumped and flipped out of the way, summoning fire to dissolve the ice if they came to close to him. He was going to have to tire the triad leader out…but that was going to be a little difficult since the rest of his gang (minus the girl) started surrounding him on all four sides.

As they assaulted him with wave upon wave of water, Mako summoned a shield of fire to protect himself…but it wouldn't last long.

He was up a creek without a paddle and needed to think of a way out of this situation. Chief Beifong was right, he thought. He wasn't ready to be back on the streets yet, he should've just stayed in Central like he was told.

And because he was stubborn, and refused to back down he found himself at the mercy of four ruthless water benders who had a grudge against cops!

Before Mako could think of an escape plan he heard a loud _thud_, as if someone had fallen to the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Marika?" Mako heard the leader demand as he refocused his attention away from Mako.

Mako took his shields down and noticed that the three lackeys were all incapacitated on the ground, and the only one left standing was the leader, who was facing the girl.

"Sorry Shang," She apologized as she spun through the air dodging the ice attacks with expertise.

Mako just stood there dumbfounded, and glued on the spot as he watched the two duel. Her fighting style was similar to that of the fire nation. And as if on cue, she unleashed a turret of fire at Shang…which caught on his wool coat and began to burn.

Shang ran around trying to extinguish the flames, all the while screaming to Marika in disbelief, "You're a bloody firebender?"

Mako couldn't believe it himself. She was dressed in navy blue and white. The colors of the Water Tribes. She had the dark skin tone of the water benders, and the brown hair and blue eyes of the Water Tribe. She looked the part of a water bender…and yet here she was, bending fire like a pro.

They locked eyes for a moment as Shang continued to run around like an idiot before Mako grabbed his collar with his good hand, and ran him straight into a box of crates…effectively knocking him out.

Mako turned back to look at Marika…whose hands were smoking…she did not look happy.

"YOU IDIOT!" The girl seethed as she stared down Mako.

oOoOo

Both Mako and the undercover agent 'Marika' were sitting in Chief Beifong's office as the elder woman paced around behind her desk trying to figure out the best course of action for her two younger officers.

"Ten months of undercover work…wasted!" Marika sighed as she crossed her legs and hid her head behind her hand as she rubbed her brow.

Rika had changed back into her normal attire after returning to Headquarters. She had on a sleeveless black leather jacket with a maroon red tank top on underneath. Hanging down from her neck were a pair of dog tags from the United Nations Special Forces...the best of the best in the military.

"Oh stop acting like it's the end of the world Rika…" Lin ordered before sitting down at her desk finally, "I take full responsibility in this matter. Officer Mako hasn't been actively involved in police work for over three years, I should have notified him of the operation in the Slums before I sent him on patrol."

Mako sighed in relief as Lin let him off the hook.

"That being said however," Lin started again as she crossed her arms and looked at Mako, "I would like to know what you were doing in Slumtown…when you were assigned to the sector CLEAR ON THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN!"

Mako sunk in his chair, Chief Beifong could be very scary when she wanted to be. He cleared his throat before looking over at Rika accusingly, "I was in Central Station, I stayed there all throughout my shift until I got a call saying that a group of triad members were robbing a merchant stall…I got there too late, the merchant was slightly shaken but otherwise all right and he told me the direction they were headed. Which just so happened to be Slumtown!"

Rika snapped her head forward and crossed her arms as she sunk down in her chair, she was a girl who took work very seriously…every day she had to work under those scumbags made her cringe. She looked forward to the day she got to bring them all down, but now it looked like she wasn't even going to be the one to do that.

Lin rubbed her chin as she thought of a way to salvage the situation. "Rika, did any Triad members escape the warehouse?"

Rika shook her head, her brown bangs bouncing as she did so. "It was just Shang, Fido, Cato, and Fu. And they are all in custody."

"So your cover hasn't been blown as of yet?" Lin asked.

"Technically no," Rika shrugged as she sat up, "But there's no way I can go there without Shang. I was just an initiate…and the minute they find out one of their higher ups is in prison, they're going to know it was me."

Mako listened intently as Rika and Lin discussed the details of the operation. "Not necessarily, were not out of this yet…we just need a new strategy."

"I'm all ears Chief," Rika hopped on board, eager at the prospect of the mission being salvaged.

"Rika, I'd like to formally introduce you to your new partner." Chief Beifong spoke with confidence.

"New partner?" Rika asked with confusion, "I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Mako will be joining you when you go back under next week," Lin smirked as she shifted in her seat and looked down at the case file in front of her, effectively blocking out the resounding 'NOOOOOOOOOOOOO' that came from both Rika and Mako as she broke the news to them.

oOoOo

**Please, Please, Please let me know what you think! Reviews make my day just a little bit brighter. Right now I see this story having around 5 chapters, but if it becomes pretty popular I'll probably write a follow up story :)**

**Updates will also be weekly, because I am juggling about 5 fanfics right now (I am horrible at keeping up). I can't help it, if a muse comes to me and I have no choice but to write it down, revise it, and publish it. **

**Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed…hopefully I'll see some of you back here next week!**

**~B.**


	2. Ignite

**Wow, guys I was completely overwhelmed by the response I got from the last chapter. It gives me the warm and fuzzies when I get such positive feedback from you guys! So I've decided to release the next chapter a few days early. Think of it as a New Year's gift!**

**Someone asked if other ships would be in this story. I will say yes to an extent, they won't have their own scenes or anything, the ones they do have will be shared with Mako since he's the centric character. But Bopal and Korrasami will be worked into the story, later chapter though.**

**I am also currently working on a later chapter where Mako and Rika go on a double date with Korra and Asami (I love awkward situations).**

**Anyways, I hope not to disappoint…here we go!**

* * *

><p><strong>Souls on Fire:<em> Ignite<em>**

Mako yawned as he walked into the locker room with his gym bag. He didn't have to start working for another two hours, but he thought this would be the perfect time to go to the gym and get a little exercise in.

While he hated being up before the sun, he knew that the morning was the opportune time to go to the Department's gym because it was usually empty.

After he dropped his bag on the bench with a thud, he started peeling off his clothes. He quietly shrugged off his jacket, undershirt, gloves, and pants before slipping on a skintight dark red running shirt and black shorts. He laced up with red running shoes and dragged his feet out of the locker room and into the gym.

There was only one other person in the room besides Mako and she was currently beating up a punching bag with her fists and feet.

Mako focused in on her and recognized her as Rika, the police officer whose cover he had accidently blown in a large scale undercover operation that was attempting to undermine one of the biggest Triads in the city.

To say they got off on the wrong foot would be an understatement.

And to make matters worse, Chief Beifong had decided to make Mako and Rika partners in the attempt to bring down the triad.

Rika had called him '_an incompetent amateur who couldn't tell the difference between a thug and a street bum_'.

Mako had been highly offended by that remark; He was part of Team Avatar for Spirit's sake. He had helped Korra take down Amon, Unalaq, Zaheer and his Red Lotus, as well as Kuvira.

Sure Rika had her military background; 3 of which was spent in the Special Forces branch…where the military sent the best of the best, but he had seen his own fair share of battles and was far from being '_an amateur_' as she had so rudely claimed.

Mako stepped forward and got a closer look at her as she panted and threw punches at the dummy bag that kept bouncing right back at her.

She was in black yoga pants and a maroon sports bra…that was it.

Her hair which she usually kept in a loose side braid was tied tightly at the top of her head in a bun.

Mako wasn't aware that he was staring at her, but when she delivered a roundhouse kick to the head of the dummy she turned around to face him.

She stood with her hands on her hips and cocked an eyebrow at him, "You know most guys who stare at me at least try to be discreet about it."

Mako's mind froze up, he opened his mouth to mutter an excuse or an apology or ANYTHING! But yet, he just stood there, with his mouth open gawking like an idiot.

He pointed a finger at her as she began to walk towards him, finally getting out of his stupor he became defensive, "Don't be ridiculous. I wasn't staring."

"Hey whatever you say hot shot." Rika laughed as she sauntered into the ladies locker room.

Mako rolled his eyes before he began to run some laps around the track.

oOoOo

An hour later, Mako was in the middle of his cold shower when he heard a familiar voice from outside the stall.

"Chief Beifong has asked that I bring you up to speed…"

Mako yelped in surprise and almost subconsciously caused the shower water to boil. He stuck his soap studded hair out of the stall, while carefully keeping the curtain around his waist.

Rika was sitting there on the bench outside the stall nonchalantly, as if it was perfectly acceptable to be sitting there in the men's locker room waiting for him as he showered…alone.

"You've got a little soap…" Rika gestured to his temple and ear and made a rubbing motion.

Mako couldn't say anything, and just bit his lip in frustration. He then flicked the curtain shut again and proceeded to finish his once relaxing shower.

"So anyways," Rika spoke up again trying to block out the loud pelting of the water, "As I was saying before…the Red Monsoon Triad is a carefully organized power structure."

Mako ripped the shower curtain open again, still keeping it at a safe angle. "Can this wait until I'm done?"

"Oh sure, by all means…" Rika plastered a fake smile to her face as she snapped her case file closed and threw it onto the bench beside her. She proceeded to cross her legs and rest her wrists on one knee.

As soon as he was finished he flipped the pipes off and ran a hand through his moppy hair causing it to slick back. He went to reach for his towel that he usually left dangling by the hook until he remembered that he left it in his locker which was a few stalls down…close to where Rika was currently sitting.

He took a deep breath and pried the curtain open one last time.

"Finished?" Rika asked curiously as she looked up from the spot on the floor she was staring at.

"Yes…but," Mako drawled on as he motioned to his locker, "My towel is in locker 068…its open, so could you do me a favor and grab it?"

Rika nodded and hopped up from where she was sitting and hopped over the bench separating the showers from the lockers. She ran her hand along the lockers counting down _066…067_…068.

She pried open Mako's locker and found his clean towel hanging from its hook. As she grabbed it she saw a few black and white photos taped to the inside of the locker.

One was a family photo of who she could only assume was Mako, his brother, and his parents. The other had a young girl smiling…Rika recognized her as the Avatar.

She wanted to say something, but felt as if it wasn't her place. Rika was a very straight forward individual. If she had something to say, she would say it. She liked to intentionally push people's buttons. She was good at finding out what made a person tick…and yet she knew when enough was enough, and she knew when not to cross an invisible boundary.

Now was one of those times. With rumors circulating about the Avatar and the Sato Industries heiress. Rika has a gut feeling that Mako and the Avatar had a history. One that he hid behind his gruff exterior. Did she want to pry it out of him? Yes.

Was she going to? No. She would wait for him to tell her.

So without further word, she tossed the towel to the waiting Mako and leaned against the lockers with her arms crossed waiting for him to dry off.

She drummed a rhythm against her arm with her fingers as she heard the scraping of towel against skin. Moments later Mako came out with the towel around his waist, little droplets of water falling off of his black hair.

"What?" Rika asked as Mako stood there looking at her as if he wanted to ask her something.

Mako stuck his finger in the air and made a spinning motion with it, telling her to turn around so he could get dressed in privacy. He knew it would be pointless to tell her to leave…so he just settled on getting his clothes on as quickly as he could while his back was turned.

As soon as Rika heard a zipper being secured she decided it was safe to turn around. As soon as she did her eyesight focused on the web of bright pink scars that decorated Mako's right arm.

"Oh my god!" Rika cried out in shock as she gripped Mako's forearm lightly and looked at the marred skin, "What happened to you?"

Mako hissed and withdrew his arm quickly, "Sorry…it's still really tender."

"Anyways…It's a long story," Mako shrugged, "Basically I was exerting a lot of lightning and couldn't maintain it.

"You can generate lightning?" Rika asked as if she didn't believe him.

"Yeah…why, can't you?" Mako asked.

She shook her head, she was just short of being a firebending master…and yet whenever she attempted lightning, it simply blew up in her face.

"Guess I'm not that much of an amateur after all." Mako said sarcastically as he stuck his arms through his undershirt and pulled it down over his chest.

"Look, I'm not going to apologize for my behavior," Rika said pointing her finger at him, "You did blow my cover…but I guess I was a little out of line."

Mako smiled, satisfaction clear in his features.

"Now hurry up…we have work to do." She said as she walked out of the locker room, leaving him to finish tying his boots.

oOoOo

"You call this work?" Mako asked as they sat at the table in the restaurant. Rika had her head buried in the menu. Mako just sat there with his arm extended over the backrest of the booth they were occupying.

"Hey scoping out the scene is one of the more important parts of undercover work. I've got to find a way to salvage my cover, this is one of the prime locations that the Red Monsoon Triad members come to."

"Won't they be suspicious if they see you out of style?" Mako motioned to her outfit. When she was undercover with the Triad she was wearing a dark blue peacoat with a black turtle neck and white skintight pants.

Today she was in charcoal grey cargo pants, combat boots, a maroon tanktop, and a sleeveless black leather jacket. Not to mention that her pair of dog tags were jingling as they dangled at her chest.

Rika shook her head as she put the menu down, "I was only initiated into the Triad a couple of weeks ago. Members have to go through a series of Trials before they become full-fledged members. The only ones who deal with the initiates is their specific recruiter…mine of which happens to be sitting comfortably behind metal bars right now."

"So the Triad could walk in right now and not know who you are?" Mako asked.

Rika nodded, "They would think I'm just a pretty girl with a nice a-"

"Special today is crab filled dumplings with a side of noodles," The waiter cut her off as he approached their table and got ready to take their orders, "My name is Po…you two know what you want?"

Rika handed him her menu and promptly ordered a plate of ghost pepper flavored wings. Mako kept it simple and stuck to the dumplings.

"You know that ghost peppers have sent people to the hospital before right?" Mako asked her.

"I like it hot…guess my fire nation roots are bleeding through." Rika simply shrugged.

"Speaking of which, what is your nationality anyways. If you don't mind my asking." Mako asked. He had been meaning to ask her. She totally pulled off the look of girl next door from the Water Tribe, and yet she was an adamantly skilled blue eyed firebender.

"My grandfather was from the fire nation, and after Aang and Zuko ended the war he fell in love with my Grandmother who was from the Northern Water Tribe and he moved there to be with her. They had one son Kovvu, who is my Father, who in turn married his childhood sweetheart Raahna, who is my mom. They had four children Ahna, Ellysia, Marko, and me."

Mako followed as she told him about her family tree. "Both my parents are waterbenders. My two sisters and my brother are waterbenders…so you can imagine their surprise when little Marika set the curtains on fire when she was 5."

"My granddad died before we found out I was a firebender, so I was kind of alone." She said sadly as she stared at her hands, "I've always been something of a black sheep when it comes to my family."

"Well in my personal opinion, fire beats water anyway." Mako said trying to lighten the mood.

Rika smirked and immediately dropped her slightly depressed demeanor.

They sat their quietly until their food came, in which Rika decided to re-break the ice. "So while we're on the subject…what's your story?"

Mako swallowed his dumpling before he told her the short version, "Me and my little brother were orphaned when we were kids. I grew up on the streets. Met the Avatar a few years ago, she's a really good friend and I've helped her save the world several times."

"That's quite the resume…" Rika said nodding as if she were impressed. "I served in the United Forces for 5 years, 3 of which were when I was in Special Ops. And you have probably seen more action than I have."

Their conversation was cut short when the restaurant doors opened and a man in his late 20's rolled in with two girls under each arm. He was dressed in dark blue, and Rika noticed the tip of a tattoo at the base of his neck which was the Red Monsoon's calling card.

Next thing they knew, the drunken guy got a good look at Rika and decided to make himself worth her while.

"Hey, what's a pretty thing like you…" The triad member slurred as he leaned into Rika, his breath reeking of alcohol, "doing with a loser like this?"

He looked at Mako as if he were a bug on the bottom of his shoe. Mako got super defensive and he began to stand up as he pushed the sleeve on his arm up farther.

Rika gave him a death glare though, this guy was just a lackey…and that usually meant there was a higher up somewhere close by.

She quickly scanned the restaurant until she laid her eyes on a man sitting at the back table with an expensive blue suit on, he had three burly body guards with him.

Bingo.

Rika had just found her way back into the fold all she had to do was put on a show for the Triad gang member.

As Mako clenched his fists ready to engage this drunken guy, Rika stood up and beat Mako to it.

It all happened in slow motion for Mako; Rika first stepped on the drunks's foot which caused him to howl and pain and lean forward to relieve pressure, Rika then saw and opening and crouched down putting him in a backwards chokehold, before she rolled herself back taking the bigger guy with her.

The drunk slammed on his back so loudly the floorboards cracked. As Rika pounced back on her feet, she assumed an offensive position with her hands clenched out in front of her and one foot on the guy's throat.

"This LOSER…happens to be boyfriend. So the next time you feel like chasing a bit of tail how about you go for someone a little more scantily clad than I."

The drunk choked until Rika made her exit with Mako following closely behind after he dropped a few yuons on the table to pay the bill.

He followed Rika outside where she was breathing heavily.

"I take it that was all part of the plan?" Mako asked in confusion as he followed her to a back alley.

Rika nodded as she paused in the alley so she had an obstructed view of the door. She was hoping she played her cards right, but if she did that high up triad member might have a word or two to say to her.

And just as she thought. A few moments later the guy rolled out in his blue suit, clutching his cane as he searched the area for her.

"Okay," Rika said as she turned around to face Mako. "I'm about to do something extremely personal and I don't want you to freak out, okay?"

"What do you mean pers-" he was cut off as Rika grabbed him by his collar with one hand and the back of his head with the other. Before he could realize what she was doing she backed them up into the stone wall behind them and pulled his face close to hers, where she met him half way with a searing hot kiss.

* * *

><p><strong>Fire+Fire= Super Hot!<strong>

**Anyways, let me know what you think! Next chapter will deal with the fall of the Triad, and then enters Korra, Asami, and Bolin...let the awkwardness ensue!**


	3. Heat

Wow! This is by far the longest chapter I have ever written. I was going to split it into two parts, but just couldn't find a good place to place the breaker. I hope nobody minds. A lot of stuff will be going on and I hope it's not too crammed.

Thanks to all of those who reviewed and favorited, please keep them coming.

If you have any questions/comments/concerns...please do not hesitate to ask.

Also there is some language, crude humor, and certain...limish...situations...so be warned

Hope you guys Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Souls on Fire: Chapter 3- Heat<strong>

Mako's mind and body weren't in sync as Rika suddenly kissed him. His mind was asking what was going on. His body however had Rika pushed up against the wall, his hands holding her wrists next to her head as he kissed her back with a passion that wasn't there with Asami or Korra.

He loved Korra, her personality and determination is what attracted him to her. When she unexpectedly kissed him outside of the Arena all those years ago his stomach was full of flighty butterflies. That was the best kiss of his life…and yet this with Rika felt like so much more.

Gone were the butterflies, but what Rika gave him was much more enticing and exciting.

With Rika it was as if his body was on fire, he described it as being sick and she was his only cure. Which was weird considering that this was only an act…right?

He didn't know right now…not only that, but he didn't care. He was going to make the most of this, however long it lasted.

He brought his hand down to her cheek and caressed it roughly, but not in a violent way. Their tongues wrestled one another, and a moan escaped her as he felt her go slightly limp in his arms.

He subconsciously felt his free hand snaking up her chest to grip her breast, but before he got there someone wolf whistled.

He felt his body temperature rise as he broke away from Rika, his lips swollen. He panted heavily mostly from the kiss, but partly because of his anger at who had interrupted it.

They both turned and saw the Triad leader and his three bodyguards.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything here," he laughed crudely as he looked Rika up and down. Mako clenched his fist and began to augment a flame when he felt Rika grasp his wrist, silently telling him to wait.

"What's it to you?" Rika asked as she slid away from Mako and faced down the older, more lethal bender.

The Triad member took three small steps towards Rika, who refused to be intimidated and didn't back down. He stood nose-to-nose with her. Rika was very tall for a girl, pushing 6'0 foot…but this guy still had her by a few inches.

Still, she would not back down and cower like a scared little animal…she dealt with guys like this during her whole tenure with the army. She chewed up thugs like this and spit them out for breakfast.

"That guy you beat up back there," he motioned to the restaurant that she and Mako had just left, "That was Big Yoki. Notorious amongst all Triad's in the city, and you had him on his ass squealing like a little girl…no offense."

Rika cocked an eyebrow at him, "With all due respect…Sir? What are you proposing?"

The Triad leader smirked again and brought his hand up to run a finger down Rika's cheek pausing to play with one of the strands that framed the side of her face.

He curled it around his finger as he spoke to her, "We could use a girl with your specific…skills. Both during the day…and at night."

Mako about snapped, getting ready to shoot this guy up with so much lightning that the city would go dark. Just as he drew his hand forward to begin the process Rika answered the brute.

"Just tell us where to go and when,"

"We?" He laughed as he made eye contact with Mako as if he were no more than a dirty street urchin.

"We're a two for one package…" Rika said pointing at Mako behind her who was flaming red with anger.

The Triad member simply shrugged, "Whatever works for you Sweetheart."

oOoOo

"I think that went rather well," Rika smiled brightly as she and Mako walked back into HQ, "Don't you?"

Mako rolled his eyes and just kept walking towards the Investigation Division where his desk was located. He had some research to do if he was going to be going undercover. Normally, preparation for this type of thing took months…but Beifong was confident that he could pull it off in a matter of days.

With Rika by his side it seemed more plausible, she had gotten a one way ticket into the Triad before…and she was well on her way to doing it again.

Still, the whole thing seemed too easy…he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. There was no way that this whole thing could be pulled off without a hitch. Something was bound to go wrong.

"Are you sure we weren't followed back here?" Mako asked Rika as she sat at the desk adjacent to his and began to riffle though the foot tall paper work on her desk.

"We're safe, trust me." She reassured him, "After we left the restaurant we doubled back. It's going to take more than a run of the mill gangster to get the better of me."

oOoOo

"Well," Rika said as she scratched the side of her head and stared down the dead end, "It seems as if they got the better of me."

Mako just smacked his hand on his face, how could they have been so stupid?

They had successfully infiltrated the Triad two weeks ago. Underwent initiation as two non-benders, passed the trials, were at the induction ceremony, when all of a sudden the supreme leader of the Triad, Juan had showed up.

Rika, sensing the opportune moment, activated the police's tracking device that was embedded in her bracer. She then stood up, casually dismissed herself to go to the bathroom and discretely pulled the fire alarm.

Mako thought that it was ridiculous for a bunch of skilled waterbenders to run away from a small fire…but then again, they weren't that smart to begin with.

These events led to Mako and Rika chasing Juan through a labyrinth in Republic City's underground tunnels. Rika quickly dispatched any random Triad members that got in her way. Effectively putting her military training to good use…all without firebending.

But the minute Juan ran through a large metal door and sealed it shut, the two police officers lost him.

"Dang it!" Mako yelled as he punched the closed door with his left hand, effectively ignoring the sharp pain that shot up his hand as he did so. He proceeded to pace around the hallway trying to figure out another way into the room.

Rika rolled her eyes as she heard his footsteps as he paced around the room while he ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh calm down…" Rika scolded him as she began to palm the metal door as if she were investigating it.

"Calm down?" Mako asked as if he didn't hear her right.

"Yes…you are stressed and compromising the mission." She paused as she turned her head back to look at him.

"The mission is already compromised," Mako argued as he pointed to the locked metal door which Juan had just fled through. "The supreme leader of the Triad was right in front of us…and we let him get away."

"He can't hide behind this door forever…so just shut up!" Rika snapped before turning her attention back to the door, "I'm trying to concentrate."

Mako clenched his fists at her outburst, she was so damned stubborn

"Stand back," Rika ordered before she smacked the metal door with her hand, her palm was lying flat against the cold metal with her fingers sprawled out evenly.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Mako stood there watching her with his arms crossed, tapping his foot, as he cocked an eyebrow at her. They were running out of time, and she thought now was a good time to see if she was actually an inherent earthbender who used seismic sense?

Mako uncrossed his arms and opened his mouth to speak again, but stopped once he saw an orange color permeate around Rika's hand.

He leaned in and noticed that the metal door was taking on a bright orange color, the colors coal turned when they had been ignited by fire. The metal cackled and sparked as the color spread to the corners of the door.

Rika was taking sharp breaths, as if she was exerting a lot of energy doing…well whatever it was she was doing.

When the orange color finally swallowed up the entire metal frame, it began to drip and melt down to the floor. The door frame laid bare as a pool of molten hot metal pooled at Rika's feet, somehow going around her.

She finally pulled her hand away from the door and let out a deep breath. She got back onto her feet and looked at Mako who was rubbing his chin.

"Care to explain what exactly just happened?" He asked as he pointed to the empty door frame.

Rika shrugged, "a couple years ago firebenders in the military discovered a new subset of bending. They found that they were able to manipulate the temperatures of animate as well as inanimate objects around them. Basically, I was able to raise the heat of the metal to its melting point at which point it reforms its shape."

She gestured to the floor as the metal cooled and retook a greyish black color.

"It's called heatbending." She stated matter-of-factly as she stepped over the uneven pile of metal and entered the dark room where the Triad leader had fled to.

Mako couldn't see anything in the pitch black room, it appeared to be a storage facility without any doors or windows…so Juan was still here.

Mako looked at Rika, only able to see her silhouette through the light from the open door. She put a finger to her lips, wordlessly telling him to keep silent and then motioned for him to take the left side while she took the right.

He nodded and began silently tiptoeing through the shadowed room. He could've used his fire to light up the path to see better, but that just made him an easy target for Juan.

He rounded corners, and listened carefully for any movement before he heard a loud crash followed by a ruckus. Two people fighting…

Rika!

Mako sprinted over to where the noise came from. Juan was standing by the door holding Rika in a headlock. Mako summoned two balls of flames, one in each hand, and got ready to dish it out on the waterbender who was holding a spear of ice at Rika's neck.

"Take one more step and she's a dead man!" The Triad leader threatened, his thick accent making him sound more intimidating.

Rika, as usual, didn't find her predicament frightening. Mako saw her simply roll her eyes as she corrected him. "Dead-WOMAN…I'm a girl after all. Is a little respect too much to ask for?"

"Shut it, ya damn wench!" He shouted at her.

"And now the name calling," She faked hurt feelings, "That really hurt me, I'm an emotional wreck!"

"Rika, will you just shut up for once!" Mako shouted through gritted teeth, his flames augmenting with his fury, "I'm trying to rescue you and you're making it a little difficult!"

"You…rescue me?" Rika laughed, "I'm exactly where I want to be…"

"And where's that," Mako asked as he waved his hands around, the flames lighting the darkness, "On your knees at a man's feet?"

"Oooh, burn!" Rika laughed sarcastically, "You got some ice for that? No wait, I got some right here!"

It was all Juan could do to simply glance between the two firebenders who were currently in a fight about god knows what.

"Eh pardon me-" he began but was cut off by both the young benders telling him to 'Shut Up!'

Juan growled, he was a notorious gang leader. The people of Republic City feared him, all the lousy criminals respected him…he refused to be undermined by a couple of kids whose sexual tension could be cut by a butter knife.

What he didn't realize though was that the ice cuffs he had frozen onto the girl's wrists, making effective handcuffs, were beginning to melt.

Rika brought her elbow up, and then crashed it back into Juan's groin as hard as she could. Juan whelped so loudly that his voice raised an octave. He dropped the ice shard he was holding to Rika's neck and brought his hands forward to his damaged goods.

Rika, taking advantage of his imbalance, rose up to her feet. She lifted Juan out of the air, and proceeded to toss him at Mako.

Mako seeing the events play out, jumped up and delivered a round house kick to Juan's head…knocking the Triad leader out cold.

Both Rika and Mako were panting as they looked each other in the eye.

He didn't know why, but all he wanted to do was kiss her again. She was a pain in the ass, but something about her turned him on like electricity to a lightbulb.

Mako wasn't sure, but he thought she might be feeling the same way, based on the way she was biting her lip and looking him up and down.

He took a step forward and reached out for her…

"Excellent work you two." A voice rang out causing them to quickly step away from each other.

Mako and Rika turned to see several metalbending police officers walk through the door followed closely by Chief Lin Beifong herself. "You have done an excellent service by taking down this Triad."

She looked down at Juan who was regaining consciousness. He was curled up in a fetal position, still cradling his crotch.

"You will regret this," He half threatened, half cried in that awful high pitched voice he now had.

"Eh save it for the jury," Chief Beifong spat back before turning to the metalbenders, "Take him away."

Metal coils began to slither around Juan as he was dragged out of the storage room leaving Lin alone with Rika and Mako.

"Take the day," Lin said as she crossed her arms, "But I expect you back at 0800 the following morning. We need to take advantage of the power vacuum that will erupt from the Red Monsoon's disbandment."

"Yes Ma'am," They both nodded as they followed Lin out of the Triad's hideout and back to the streets.

oOoOo

The sun was just starting to go down as Mako and Rika walked down the streets, not knowing where to go, but simply wanting to get out of the area.

"So what now?" Mako asked, attempting to break the awkward silence that was permeating from the two of them.

"It's not every day that we singlehandedly get to take down an entire gang from the inside," She put her hands into her peacoat's pockets and turned to him, "I say that earns us a drink."

Mako smirked as she continued, "I just need to get out of this damn skirt. What do we say meet up around 9:00?"

Mako nodded, "Sounds good."

Rika smiled before she turned around and walked the opposite direction. He knew what she meant, he had been forced to dress up in Water Tribe gettup and he hated it. He had to wear a black and grey longcoat with a blue undershirt that was itchy and uncomfortable. All in all, he looked like that asshole Tahno who had cheated him, Bolin, and Korra out of the probending championship.

He glanced at Rika as she walked down the opposite street; she had taken to wearing a white miniskirt, black fur boots, a light blue turtleneck, and a dark blue peacoat that reached the back of her knees.

She also wore her hair down, letting it reach her chest in wavy curls.

He had to admit, that even though she was technically from the water tribe she didn't look natural in the clothing. She looked most comfortable in her loose fitting grey cargo pants, black combat boots, maroon tanktop, and sleeveless black leather jacket.

She was a firebender inside and out.

oOoOo

Mako was sipping on his beer when suddenly someone plopped down in the seat beside him and said to the bartender, "I'll have what he's got."

He turned and saw Rika, back in her signature outfit, with her hair back into its side braid. She smiled at him as she crossed her arms onto the bar's tabletop. The bartender plopped the glass down in front of her, she thanked him, and then she took a swig of the drink.

"So tell me…" Rika began as she slammed down her bottle, "You're part of this 'Team Avatar', saved the world from multiple evil a-holes, and rescued countless people…why'd you leave that all behind?"

Mako shrugged, "Same can be said about you, you know? From what I've heard the Special Operation's branch of the military is the best of the best. You could be doing a lot more up there, than you are here with the Police."

Rika smirked as she took another drink, "An answer for an answer?"

Mako nodded, "Sounds fair enough."

They both waited for the other to speak, "Well I asked you first…so go on."

Mako rolled his eyes, "I've been friends with Korra going on five years. For a little while we were more than that."

Rika smirked, "Mako and Korra…Mak-orra. Makorra!" she laughed, "You know they could put that on a t-shirt."

He groaned before he went on, "Anyways, I of course found a way to screw everything up…"

"Let me guess…" she paused to face him, "There was another woman?"

Mako nodded, "My ex-girlfriend Asami."

Rika listened as Mako explained how he was dating Asami first, but realized that his heart truly belonged with Korra. However, his sense of duty outweighed his trust in Korra and then they broke up. And then he sort of got back together with Asami.

Rika thought it sounded a lot like one of those soap operas that the local theatre put on.

"And in the end, my two ex-girlfriends decided they were happier with each other than with me." Mako said bluntly as he swiveled around in his seat to face Rika.

Rika paused to process what he was saying, a small laugh escaped her lips before she burst into hysterical laughs.

Mako ruffled his brows and gave her a dirty look as he crossed his arms, "Something funny?"

"I'm sorry…" She apologized as she wiped away a tear from her eye. "That's rough buddy."

"Eh," He shrugged, "It's weird, don't get me wrong. But I'm okay with it, I love them both…and if they're happy, than so am I."

Rika nodded. "Korra and Asami. Korra-Sami. Korrasami! Hey, I'm getting good at this."

"Anyway enough about me, what about you?" Mako asked, "What's your story."

Rika immediately tensed up and stared at her drink, she didn't like talking about her personal life…but she had made a deal with Mako after all.

"I was recruited at a young age for the Armed Forces. I was 15 when I enlisted, at 17 I was handpicked by Special Operations Commander Roku…"

Mako nodded, he had heard about General Iroh's younger brother Roku, but had never had the honor of meeting him.

"Anyways, I was second in command under Captain Kiva…my fiancée." She paused, that wasn't totally accurate she thought. She had never given him an answer. He died the day after he asked her to marry him.

"He died and I couldn't handle the pressure," she said quickly as she looked down at her hands, "the pain was still too near."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry Rika…" Mako ran his hand through his hair as he looked down, "I had no idea…I should never have brought this up."

"No it's okay," Rika smiled lightly as she gently laid her hand on Mako's to get his attention.

"I was absolutely devastated when he died…I wouldn't eat, I wouldn't sleep…I just didn't know what kept me tethered to this world after Kiva died."

"But then one day I realized, that every moment we have is a blessing…that those four years were the best of my life, and while I lost Kiva in the end I would not have traded it for the world. He wouldn't want me to mourn him or weep for him. So I didn't. I endured, and now when I wake up every morning…I treat it as if it will be my last, I treat it like a gift."

Mako couldn't help but smile at her as he squeezed her hand reassuringly. She was such a strong-willed person. And although on the outside, she was a sarcastic, cocky, pain-in-the-ass…on the inside she was a warm-hearted, kind, and determined individual.

oOoOo

They continued to talk well into the early hours of the morning, upon closing time Mako decided to walk Rika back to her apartment. They continued to bond as they walked back in the cold.

It wasn't until they got there that Mako realized that they were holding hands. He wasn't that drunk was he?

No he wasn't…what was going on with him. Rika was awakening feelings in him he didn't even know existed.

"Do you want to come in?" She asked shyly, an emotion he never saw from her. She was standing nervously in her doorway playing with her dogtags clearly hoping that he would take her up on the offer.

He wanted to, desperately. But as he thought to step forward and follow her into the house…he shook his head and apologized, "I'm sorry…that might not be such a good idea."

"Oh," she said as she looked down, clearly disappointed, "Okay…well have a safe walk home. I'll see you in two days."

He just stared, frozen on the spot as she gently closed the door behind her.

Mako paused on the street before turning back to Rika's apartment. He was done playing it safe.

He marched back up to her doorstep and began pounding on the door. His heart began racing as he heard her footsteps quickly get close to the door.

She swung it open, and the look in her eyes told him that she was hoping he would come back. Without waiting for an invitation Mako crossed the threshold, gently grabbed Rika's face in his hands and pressed his lips to hers.

Rika stumbled back but Mako's arms snaked around her and pulled her tightly against him. She crossed her arms around his neck, with one hand clutching at his hair desperately.

Mako clumsily lead them farther inside so he could shut the door with his foot. After hearing the door slam, Rika felt herself get roughly pushed into the wall. With Mako propping her up she felt free to wrap her long slender legs around Mako's waist as he held her there with ease.

She moaned loudly as Mako moved from her lips and began to ravage her neck, biting and nipping at it until his lips were swollen.

"Bedroom. Upstairs." Was all she could muster as her body and soul succumbed to all the emotions flowing through her. Mako nodded and met her lips once more as he stepped away from the wall keeping them joined as he carefully walked up the stairs.

It seemed like hours passed before he got to her small room on the top floor. He didn't have much time to survey her room, but all she had was a small bed big enough for just one person…he was willing to accept that challenge.

He laid Rika carefully down on the bed before climbing on top of her, before he continued he pulled back and met her eyes waiting for her response, waiting for unspoken permission.

Seemingly, Rika read his mind and nodded to him as she bit her lip and pulled him back down to her.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope everyone enjoyed! <strong>

**Also, just a thought. I'm no stranger to writing lemons and smut. I want to keep this story on the T side, but if people want I may post a deleted scene of what happens after they hit the sheets and the camera fades out (if you catch my drift). Just let me know, I aim to please!**

**Next chapter will focus on their day off...and a certain run in with two gals (oh who could they possibly be?)**


	4. Burn

**Hello. Once again, thank you all who took the time to leave a review…I am still baffled by how many people are reading this story. It warms my heart that I have so many sweet and loyal supporters. **

**Just a side note...I have a chapter written that is entirely Rika's backstory, from her beginnings with the Northern Water Tribe, to her ending up with the Police Department. It is pretty long (considering it's a summary more or less), 5000 words about, I really don't want to break it up, but I just don't know where to put it in the story. I might just post it as a separate fanfic, I don't know…any ideas?**

**Once again, there is a T rating…implied lemons and all. **

* * *

><p><span><strong>Souls on Fire: Chapter 4- Burn<strong>

Mako was lying on his back, one hand resting on his stomach intertwined with Rika's. The other was sprawled out to his side being used as a makeshift pillow for Rika, who was curled up into him, her head resting peacefully on his chest with her hair sprawled out behind her.

Rika's eyes fluttered open as the suns early rays peeked through her blinds and hit her closed eyelids. She groaned silently before rubbing her eyes with her free hand in an attempt to wake up. She stifled a yawn as she looked up and saw Mako who was still fast asleep, his head was turned towards her slightly and his chest rose and fell silently.

Rika looked down at her hand which was resting on top of Mako's stomach, his hand was laid gently on top of hers…almost hugging it subconsciously. Her dark skin tone contrasting his own pale white one.

She smiled briefly, events from that night playing over and over in her mind, like a record. She placed a small kiss on his upper chest before quietly sliding out of bed as to not wake him.

She quietly went to her drawers and pulled out a pair of red underwear, a black tanktop, and her dark grey robe that hit the back of her knees. Slipping her arms into the silky material, she quietly shut the door behind her and made her way to her kitchen to put some breakfast on the table.

oOoOo

About an hour later, Mako finally began to stir from his slumber. He groaned and rolled over, fully expecting to come into contact with a very warm body that fit perfectly against him. Understandably, his disappointment skyrocketed when he came into contact with the cool sheets.

To make matters worse, they had been cuddled up on her tiny bed all night, sometime during the night he had been laying smack in the middle. Unfortunately as he rolled over, he went a little too far and ended up tumbling onto her floor naked as a newborn baby.

Thankfully he grabbed the white sheets with him, and kept them fastened securely around his waist. Not that it really mattered anyway, he was alone in the room. But the thought of standing nude, in his co-workers bedroom, made him feel slightly guilty.

Not that he was in anyway ashamed of the events of last night, Rika certainly knew how to show a man a good time. Was that learned in the army?

He had little flashes of her on top of him, swiveling her hips as she rode him.

Mako sighed peacefully at the memory before he walked over to his discarded clothes. He pulled out his black boxers and white undershirt…figuring it was better than trying to squeeze into one of Rika's little tanktops that stopped midriff.

Out of curiosity he walked over to her closet and opened the door. He opened his eyes in astonishment as he looked at the outfits hanging up. Her signature outfit that was made up of the cargo pants, combat boots, leather jacket, and tanktop…she had about 10 identical items for each of them, and they were all neatly lined up and organized.

Mako silently closed the closet door before he began to walk towards the smell of food downstairs.

oOoOo

"Good morning," Rika smiled at Mako as he descended the stairs slowly. She turned back around and continued to sip at her tea. Stopping occasionally to swirl the bag around.

Mako plopped down in the chair across from Rika at her small dining room table, he planted his elbows into the wood, and propped his head up in his hands.

"There's breakfast on the counter, I apologize for there not being much…didn't really plan on this happening." Rika shrugged as she raised her head to look at him briefly.

His hair, which he usually kept neatly combed (minus his spike in the front), was a tangled mess of curls. Locks of hair shot out every which way. Honestly, hers probably didn't look much better…but her hair was long and could easily be tied back into a bun or braid.

Mako got up and filled his plate with eggs, toast, and bacon. He also grabbed a mug of tea before he sat back down.

'I didn't plan on…this…happening', her words echoed in Mako's mind. He least of all wanted to acknowledge the elephant in the room, but it was best to get this conversation started sooner rather than later.

"Speaking of which…what exactly is 'this'?" he asked as he motioned between them.

Rika looked up at him a moment before putting her mug down and sighing, rubbing her forehead she averted her eyes to her lap.

"What do you want it to be, Mako?" She asked, "I'm not gonna lie…I feel a connection with you, a very deep bond that I haven't felt with anyone. Not even Kiva."

"Your dead boyfriend," Mako clarified before he hissed, "Sorry for being so blunt."

"Whatever," She said waving him off in her usual fashion, "I like you, like a lot. I'm willing to give this a try…but at the same time I don't want to lose you as being my partner at the police force."

"I know," Mako agreed. They might have clashed a lot, but it was hard to argue that they didn't get results. "I guess, we just keep this a secret for now?"

Rika shrugged, "I guess so."

She crossed her arms and sighed, she didn't like the idea of hiding…but maybe this would be a good thing. They had only met a month ago, and they pretty much skipped all the bases and went for home plate.

Maybe it would be a good idea to lay low for a little while and just go on a weekly date to the movies. She certainly hadn't been able to do that with Kiva, their relationship was practically the equivalent of a married couple. They had spent every waking moment together, they didn't have any other options, and they were on the same squadron after all. And it wasn't just her and Kiva either, all seven members of that unit were like a family.

A family that she missed more than her birth one. She hadn't spoken or heard a word from her parents or siblings since she packed her bag and left five years ago.

Rika snapped out of her thoughts before looking into Mako's amber eyes again, "Allright, let's do it."

Mako smirked, "Three times wasn't enough? I thought you would have been exhausted after last night."

Rika rolled her eyes, "Ha…bloody…ha!"

oOoOo

Since Rika's apartment was located on the outskirts of the city, it was easy for her and Mako to walk to the nearby park. It was commonly known as Republic City Park, but after the heroic deeds of Avatar Korra it was renamed in her honor.

They strolled along at a leisurely pace, Rika seemingly fascinated by a pebble she would continuously kick a few feet ahead of her.

"Your brother sounds like a trouble maker," Rika laughed as Mako finished a story revolving Bolin and Pabu.

"You have no idea," Mako smirked, "You should meet him. You'd like him…everyone likes Bo."

"Where is he? Does he live in the city with you?" Rika asked.

"He used to," Mako answered, "Right now he's spending time with his girlfriend Opal. She was effected by the harmonic convergence and is now an airbender. Opal tries to balance her time between her training at Air Temple Island and visiting her family in Zaofu."

They continued talking when out of nowhere, the ground beneath Rika crumbled. She staggered forward almost falling flat on her face.

She looked ahead and saw a little boy, maybe 8 years old, running away as if a dark spirit were on his tail. Rika frowned and felt around her pockets…noticing that they were all now empty. Her wallet had been snatched.

Rika sighed as she watched the young street urchin run off with her wallet. She saw Mako start to push his sleeves up, ready to chase after him.

She held her hand up and turned to him, "I got this."

Mako watched in awe as Rika summoned two flames in her hands and pointed them at the ground. She started to hover in the air as two more flames shot out from the soles of her shoes.

"Be right back," she waved before she took off. She seemed to skate around the couples crowding the park, as she maneuvered her way across the path after the little kid who took her wallet.

She used her arms to balance herself and navigate, and she used her feet to propel herself forward. It wasn't too long before she caught up with the homeless kid who took her money.

He yelped in surprise as Rika skated in front of him with her arms crossed. She than thrust her hand forward and raised her eyebrows, telling him silently to give her wallet back to her now.

The little boy grunted and swiped his hand into the air. A fist sized rock went flying towards Rika who simply stuck her hand out and caught it…all while keeping her eyes on the kid.

Poor little guy didn't stand a chance.

"You're small so I'll go easy on you kid," Rika said as she stepped forward, "I just want my wallet back. There's stuff in there that means more to me than money."

Rika was half expecting him to hit her, or try to run away again. What she didn't expect was his eyes to start tearing up…and him plopping down and start crying.

"What did you do?" Mako asked as he caught up with them, taking in the sight of a little boy crying at Rika's feet.

Rika threw her hands into the air, "I don't know…I just asked for my money back!"

Rika and Mako listened as the little boy cried about how his parents had died last month, and he had run away from the city orphanage. Apparently the caretaker was less than hospitable. Mako couldn't help but pity the child, his situation paralleled him and Bolin's.

But nevertheless, Rika ended up giving the child 20 yuons, enough to buy himself a few meals at least. She had also made him promise never to steal again.

The boy nodded before he ran forward and hugged Rika's legs, leaving the ex-military firebender standing awkwardly as she patted his back with as much comfort as she could muster.

Figures, that even on their day off…they could never have a normal date.

oOoOo

"Well," Mako said as they arrived back at Rika's doorstep, "I had a lot of fun today…"

Rika smiled and fought a blush that was creeping up into her cheeks, "so did I…we should probably do it again sometime."

"Just give me a time and place, and I'll be there." Mako nodded.

"Tomorrow. Eight in the morning. HQ…" Rika smirked, effectively killing Mako's mood. He didn't want to think about going back to work…personally, he felt as if Chief Beifong should've given them a week off after taking down Juan and the Triad. But alas, criminals didn't put their crimes on hold just so Mako could enjoy time with his new girlfriend.

"Goodnight Rika." He whispered as he leaned into her slightly.

Rika tilted her head to meet him, "Goodnight…Ma-"

"Mako?"

Rika and Mako both snapped back as if they had just heard a gunshot. The firebender then froze at the sound of his name and the recognition of the voice. He turned on his heel slightly, Rika mirroring his position to see who was calling upon him.

She saw two girls. They were holding each other's hands, the girl in blue with the short hair quickened her pace while the other girl with the long black hair followed closely behind.

Rika had a feeling she knew who they were, but Mako answered her thoughts anyway.

"Korra…Asami?" He asked as he scratched his head, "What are you doing here?"

* * *

><p><strong>Will Rika and Korra be instant friends? Or will they get off on the wrong foot? Stay tuned to find out...<strong>

**And as always, feel free to just hit that little button and submit a quick and easy review…All free of charge!**


	5. Combust

**Welcome back everyone. Sorry for the wait. For once I don't have much to say...I hope Korra and Asami aren't too OOC. Rika and Korra are both hot-headed and stubborn, so you put them in the same room...'_shivers'_. **

**Anyways... (Clears throat and speaks in Benedict Cumberbatch voice)**

**SHALL WE BEGIN?**

* * *

><p>Rika unlocked arms with Mako as he walked forward and embraced each of the two girls. If it wasn't for the fact that she deduced who they were, she might have gotten a little jealous.<p>

"When did you guys get back?" Mako asked as he hugged Korra. "And what are you doing on this side of town?"

"We got back a few days ago…" Korra answered before trailing off. Her focus seemed to stop on Rika who was standing there patiently with her arms crossed.

"Oh this is Rika…" Mako answered quickly as he scooted over to her, "my girlfriend."

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, they had agreed that they were going to keep the relationship secret for a while…and he immediately blabbed. In his defense though, Korra and Asami were two of his closest friends. It was bound to come out at some point.

"Nice to meet you," Rika smiled pleasantly and gave a quick wave to the other two girls.

"I'm Korra…The Avatar." Korra emphasized. Rika was certain that the waterbender wasn't trying to boast…but it sure did come off that way.

The three girls proceeded to have semi-awkward small talk that led to Rika disclosing her history with the Military.

"General Iroh, do you know him?" Asami asked.

Rika shrugged, "I've met him a couple times…I served in a different branch than him. However, his brother Roku is actually a close friend of mine."

"Iroh has a brother?" Korra asked as she scratched her head.

"Roku is several years younger, and he's a commander in the Special Operations sector. My team served directly under him."

The conversation took a turn for the worse as Rika recalled her last mission in Ba Sing Se. She mentioned Red Lotus just once, and Korra froze up.

"I thought Red Lotus was disbanded? I thought the military arrested all of them?"

"We got a lot," Rika admitted, "But their network was bigger than any of us ever thought. We took one terrorist cell out, two more popped up. They're like locust's…they seek to devour and destroy everything in their path. Not to mention there was a power vacuum after the death of the Queen…we suddenly had an enemy we weren't prepared to reckon with. Kuvira sought to banish every non-earthbender from Earth Kingdom…regardless of whose side they were on."

"You don't need to lecture me about Kuvira," Korra said, "I learned firsthand exactly what she was capable of."

The conversation finally reached its boiling point. And all Mako and Asami could do was watch as the two girls got into a fullblown argument.

"I'm sorry but where exactly were you when Kuvira was destroying the city? Or Amon for that matter? Or the Dark Avatar…should I go on?"

Rika laughed at the irony, "Excuse me? You're going to lecture me about not keeping up appearances? Last I heard the Avatar had dropped off the face of the Earth for over three years. Isn't it your job to keep the balance? Because me and my friends, ended up doing that while you were taking some R & R!"

Mako rolled his eyes and felt his temper flare. What Rika said was out of line, but he couldn't totally blame her. Korra was pushing buttons, and she didn't know that Rika went through hell and back in her last year of military service.

Rika didn't give Mako all of the details, but basically her squad had walked into a Red Lotus ambush in Ba Sing Se…and the leader of the team and her fiancée Kiva had died.

Korra clenched her fist (he was pretty sure he heard her growl too), and Rika gave her a look…daring her to make the first move.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Mako practically bellowed as he harshly grabbed Korra's upper arm and yanked her back. He proceeded to shoot Rika an angry glare. She took a deep breath and proceeded to relax her shoulders.

Mako turned back to Korra, loosening his grip on her, but not letting her go quite yet. "I need to talk to you…now."

Rika was seething as she watched Mako walk away with Korra into a back alley by her apartment. She was snapped out of her anger when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

She turned quickly, alarming the other woman Asami. She cleared her throat before speaking up, "Why don't we go inside…they could be awhile."

Rika nodded and ushered Asami into her small little apartment, "I'll make up some tea."

oOoOo

"What the hell was that?!" Mako practically yelled at Korra as he struggled to keep his voice down.

"Excuse me?" Korra asked as she put her hands on her hips, "Maybe you should be asking her…she's the one who started it!"

"Don't pull that card on me Korra, you were provoking her!" Mako yelled as he lost his temper. It would be just his luck that his current girlfriend and former girlfriend got into a heated argument just moments after meeting. He just hoped things were going better for Asami.

"Zaheer nearly killed me, what he did haunted me physically and mentally…and you're defending her?" Korra demanded.

"I'm not defending either of you, no one blames you for taking time off Korra…I understand that, but you aren't the only one who the Red Lotus took something from."

"What could have possibly been so bad for her?" Korra asked, her temper flaring up again.

"They killed her fiancée!" Mako explained. "A year ago they were tracking a Red Lotus cell in Ba Sing Se, and they were ambushed. She watched him die in her arms and she couldn't do anything to stop it."

Korra felt her face soften, and her anger was replaced with horror. She remembered what Zaheer had said about the Red Lotus, how they were bigger than anyone could possibly imagine.

She suddenly felt guilty, she vaguely remembered how broken up her father was when she was dying from the mercury poisoning. Her father held her while she came back from the verge of death.

With Rika though, the person she was holding never came back.

oOoOo

"I swear I didn't mean for this to happen," Rika admitted to Asami as the two sat on the leather couch in Rika's apartment.

Asami chuckled slightly, pausing to take a sip of her tea before speaking. "Believe me it's not your fault. Korra is the most loyal person I know…but she can be rather impulsive, she always says something before thinking it."

Rika chuckled slightly, from the sounds of it she had more in common with the Avatar than she had originally thought. No wonder Mako was attracted to her.

"So anything you should tell me about Mako before I find out for myself?" Rika asked as she folded her arms behind her head.

"He really is a great guy; He's loyal, smart, and not terrible to look at either…" Asami joked and they both laughed, "His major fault is that he tries to appease to everyone. He goes to great lengths to keep everyone happy…and sometimes that just makes things worse down the line."

Rika nodded in understanding as Asami turned to her, "So what about you? What's your story?"

"I served in the military for 5 years, took an early retirement, and now I'm a detective with the Republic City Police. I'm actually Mako's partner…that's how we met."

Rika proceeded to tell Asami about her and Mako's awkward first encounter in that old abandoned warehouse in the slums. It was funny, that only happened a month ago…and yet it felt like so much longer.

"How old were you when you enlisted?" Asami asked.

"Sixteen," Rika answered.

"That means your only 21?" Asami asked in disbelief.

"I turn 22 in a couple of weeks." Rika shrugged as she looked at Asami.

Asami raised an eyebrow, "You look older than that."

Rika laughed, she knew Asami didn't mean for it to come out like that, but she thought she would go along with it. "You saying I look old?"

Asami blushed an immediately apologized, "No…no no no…I didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Rika laughed, "I'm mature beyond my years. I guess the military does that to a person. After seeing the things I have, and going through the trials…the person you are when you leave is completely different that the person who used started as."

"I don't regret a day I was in the military," Rika explained, "I saved a lot of lives, and stopped a lot of evil people. But sometimes, I wish I just had a normal life…sometimes I wish that I had never run away from home.

Rika recalled Commander Roku finding her half dead in a snowbank in the middle of a blizzard up north. If he hadn't stumbled across her when he did…she more than likely would have died.

"Why did you leave home," Asami asked, "If you don't mind my asking?"

"It's a long story," Rika sighed as she stretched her legs and plopped them down on the table in front of her. Crossing her feet at the ankles, she sighed and finished her tea. "It came as a shock when my parents found out I was a firebender. I'm ¼ fire-nation on my dad's side, both my parents are waterbenders, all of my siblings are…so I kind of blindsided them when I started making flames."

Rika paused to tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear, "For some reason they were embarrassed of having a firebending child…they told the neighbors I was a non-bender and no one thought to ask questions, because looks wise I fit right in."

Asami studied Rika's features; undoubtedly from her brown hair, blue eyes, and dark skin…she looked the part of water tribe gal.

"After a while, I just couldn't take it anymore…I was tired of being tied down. So one night I packed a bag, and left in the middle of the night…I haven't spoken to my family since."

Asami nodded, "Have you thought about getting back in touch with them?"

Rika bit her lip, looked at her lap, and shook her head. "It's not necessarily that I don't want to, it's just that it's been so long…what would I even say to them?"

"So you're scared of them rejecting you?" Asami asked, understanding where Rika was coming from.

"I guess so. I didn't have the best childhood growing up," Rika sighed, "I always felt like an outcast. They always treated me differently than my other siblings."

Asami sighed, Rika was a flame surrounded by water, constantly fighting not to be snuffed out. While Rika's parents weren't abusive…they certainly hadn't been the most nurturing.

"My dad tried to kill me," Asami blurted out. Rika snapped her head up, as if she hadn't heard her correctly, "We all have skeletons in our closets, and if I could make amends with my father…then I'm sure you can make amends with yours as well."

Rika smiled, "Thanks Asami."

oOoOo

Mako and Korra had both cooled off by now, and they had eventually wound up on the stone steps leading up to Rika's apartment. As they sat in the cool night air, looking up to the moon…they found themselves reminiscing about the past, present, and future.

"There's something about her," Mako waved his hands in the air, "I can't explain it. But its like were bound together."

Korra nodded as she bit her lip and stared down at her hands. While she was glad Mako was happy, she couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy in the fact that he had never acted like this with her.

She knew it wasn't right nor fair to think that way, she had found happiness with Asami. What Mako did now and the choices he made could only be judged by him and him alone.

However, what Mako told her next nearly brought her to tears.

"Korra, not a day goes by that I don't regret how I hurt you." Mako admitted as he placed his hand on hers, "I meant what I said that day, 'I will always love you'. And if you are happy, than that's all I can do is to be there for you and support you."

Korra smiled weakly as Mako continued, "I will always have your back…but that means that you need to have mine."

Korra nodded and gently squeezed the hand that he had placed on hers, "That's not too much to ask…I think I can do that."

"For the first time, in a long time, I'm actually happy…and I have this overwhelming feeling that something I do down the line is going to hurt Rika. It terrifies me, but I care about her so much…and I'm gonna do everything in my power to not screw this up."

Korra smiled, touched at Mako's words, "I'll tell you what…I know this great little spot in the Spirit World."

oOoOo

Rika and Korra stared at each other for a long while. Korra stood with her arms crossed, and Rika had her hands buried in her pockets. They no longer were angry towards each other, each having reached an understanding with the other.

"I'm sorry about what I said," Rika said breaking the ice, "It was out of line…and it wasn't my place to judge you like that."

"I'm sorry too. I took what you said the wrong way, I shouldn't have attacked you like that."

Rika shrugged, "I've had worse."

Korra laughed, "Me too."

"By the way," Rika said as she removed her hands from her pockets, "If we would have started a fight…I would totally have kicked your ass."

Korra laughed, "Don't get your hopes up…I am the Avatar after all. I outrank you 4 to 1."

Rika shrugged, "And I'm an ex-military special operations soldier. I have a few tricks up my sleeve…I'd give you a run for your money."

Rika and Korra both turned and walked down the street to where Asami and Mako were waiting, "I just might have to take you up on that offer some day."

oOoOo

Rika sighed as she stood outside on the street and peered into the window of Kwong's Cuisine with Mako right beside her.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Rika asked with insecurity in her voice.

"No," Mako admitted as he stepped forward and placed his hand on the small of her back, "But it's too late to back out now."

"Should we have like a code word if things get to weird?" Rika asked as they walked up to the hostess and told them they were with Sato party of 4.

"Why did I agree to this in the first place?" Rika groaned as she followed the waiter into the backroom that was lit by candles giving a romantic aura to the patrons. Each table was lavishly decorated with a vase full of red roses and petals scattered on the velvet table cloth.

"Because you wanted to make an effort to get along with Korra," Mako reminded her.

They had their little spat over a week ago, and Korra had decided that the four of them should go on a 'double date'. So here Mako was, at the restaurant where he had his first date with Asami, with his current girlfriend…having dinner with his two ex-girlfriends. He felt like actors could write a soap opera about his life.

It really wasn't a bad situation, it was more just like an awkward encounter that would be fine given time. On the Brightside, Mako got to see Rika as she was now, in a one sleeved maroon dress that showed off her long legs. Her hair was done up nicely; her normal braid spiraled around in a bun and was pinned at the back of her head with her bangs framing her face. So it wasn't a total loss.

Mako knew how much Rika hated dressing up, she preferred comfy loose clothes as opposed to fancy ones…but she really knew how to pull it off.

Rika bit her lip as the table with Asami and Korra came into view. Just because she was on speaking terms with Korra now didn't mean she was ready to go on a double date.

Essentially, All three women who Mako had ever been involved with romantically…were sitting at this table.

As soon as they took their seats, the waiter came forth in a fancy white shirt and black tie. He had a long greasy mustachio and spoke in a horrid accent that made it nearly impossible to interpret.

Rika reached for her complimentary glass of red wine and took a long sip, she slammed it down a little too harshly…the red liquid threatening to spill onto the lovely table cloth.

She neither cared nor worried though. She was getting her game face on.

'Let's do this.' She thought triumphantly.

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you all enjoyed it. I didn't mean for it to end so abruptly, but what i planned to end this chapter seemed to be too long so it's going to be a chapter in its own right. Also because this story seems to be so popular, I'm going to extend it to around 10 chapters. I have another arc that I'm going to throw in there, because I am much more oriented towards writing about action stuff then gushy lovey dovey stuff. <strong>

**As always Review, subscribe, favorite...whateva floats your boat. :)**


End file.
